A Bank of England survey found “no clear evidence” the UK economy has slowed as a result of the Brexit vote.

The central bank's latest monthly Agents' Summary of Business Conditions for July found the annual rate of activity “had remained moderate and little changed in the month up to the EU referendum”.

Following the vote, the survey found business uncertainty “had risen markedly” though the majority of firms did not expect “a near-term impact from the result on their investment or staff hiring plans”, and are seeking to maintain “business as usual”.

However around a third of the Bank of England's contacts “thought there would be some negative impact on those plans over the next twelve months”.

“As yet, there was no clear evidence of a sharp general slowing in activity,” the Bank of England said.

Its July report found investment intentions for the year ahead “were little changed and pointed to modest growth in investment”, though there were “some reports of delays in decision-taking on corporate spending until after the EU referendum”.

The July survey found investor demand for commercial real estate “continued to decline” as investors deferred decisions until after the EU referendum.

However housing market activity “had remained subdued and lower than a year earlier”.

Employment intentions also “slowed a little further, partly reflecting deferrals of some recruitment decisions” until after the referendum vote.

The Bank of England said its Agents have increased the intensity of their intelligence gathering following the EU referendum, notably with contacts at larger companies “to understand how businesses are responding, or plan to respond, to the result”.

It found many larger firms are planning to undertake strategic reviews of their operations in light of the Brexit vote.

“For many, the result of the referendum was a shock; few had contingency plans and so for the time being were in a mode of seeking to maintain ‘business as usual'”, the report states.

Adding: “Uncertainty had risen and many felt there was a lack of information on which to base major decisions and that information might only become available with a considerable lag as future trading relations became clearer.”

However the July survey found “few suggestions of disinvestment” in the near term, though “there were a few reports of planned foreign direct inward investment being postponed”.

The report states some contacts had also “mentioned the possibility of moving production back to the United Kingdom, or increasing the domestic sourcing of products, in light of sterling’s fall”.

It found little evidence of any impact on consumer spending on services and non-durable goods, though there were some reports consumers are becoming more hesitant around purchases of higher-value goods.

Transactions in the housing market “had so far been more resilient than some contacts had expected”, despite reports of a dip in housing market sentiment in the days immediately following the referendum vote.

However farmers are now reporting a rise in commodity costs as the fall in sterling is passed through to higher import costs.

“Manufacturing and some construction input costs were expected to rise over an extended period, lasting beyond a year,” the report states, and the cost of retail goods is “expected to increase over a year or more, with fresh food costs beginning to rise within the next three months”.

The Bank of England said early evidence suggests banks’ appetite to lend “had been maintained following the referendum decision”, but adds there were reports “demand for credit was easing alongside lower expectations for investment spending”.

Sterling rose half a cent to $1.32 on the announcement and the FTSE 100 was up 0.2 per cent and the FTSE 250 was up 0.5 per cent in early afternoon trading.